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London Academy of Excellence: 21 East End Eton pupils to train as doctors, dentists or vets

An inner-city school has achieved something few private ones can match: 21 pupils are to train as doctors, dentists or vets

Sian Griffiths, Education Editor

September 17 2017, 12:01am, The Sunday Times

Waleed Sheikh, centre front, had to overcome unreliable marking before securing his place to read foundation medicine

They are some of the most popular degree courses in the country, disproportionately attended by privately educated students, most of them white.

But this month a free school in one of the poorest parts of Britain is sending 21 pupils to university to train as doctors, dentists and vets, an academic record that outstrips that of some of the most famous private schools.

The former sixth-formers at the London Academy of Excellence, known as “the Eton of the East End”, are embarking on a path that will see them earn far more than their parents, many of whom came to Britain for a better life.

The school was set up with the aim of getting bright children from poor families “into the top universities”. It…